San Jose SaberCats defense a work in progress

The SaberCats defense has drawn praise from coaches and teammates for the improvement it has shown this season.

Vince Hill, however, wants none of it.

Sure, the Cats defense ranks among the Arena Football League's top 10, having risen from second-to-last after surrendering 70 points and 386 yards in the team's season opener. However, as Hill prepared this week for Saturday's home game against the Kansas City Command (0-4), the four fourth-quarter touchdowns the SaberCats (3-2) gave up in last week's 61-55 loss to Philadelphia weighed heavily on the defensive back's mind.

Never mind that San Jose spent much of the fourth quarter battling to keep its opponent out of the end zone after three straight Cats offensive drives ended in interceptions.

"It doesn't matter if there are turnovers. We can't give up touchdowns," Hill said. "It doesn't matter if the other team is 10 yards out or 25 yards out. We still have to stop them."

Hill's never-settle mindset is one the Cats' whole defense shares, according to coach Darren Arbet.

"Every week they come out here early to practice and they stay late, and that shows when we play football," Arbet said.

Hill is one of the biggest reasons the defense has come as far as it has. He is tied for fifth in the league in tackles, averaging 6.9 per game. He also leads the SaberCats in interceptions (two) and pass breakups (five).

Advertisement

"He's quick, he's aggressive and he's smart," linebacker Francis Maka said. "He makes it easier on the defensive linemen when he's in coverage because either he'll get into the lane and get a pick or the quarterback will hold it long enough for us to get there."

Maka is also a major reason for the SaberCats' improvement on defense. He and defensive end Joe Sykes both rank among the league leaders in sacks.

Add nose guard Tim McGill, who had 10 tackles from his interior spot with Tampa Bay last season, and defensive end Gabe Nyenhuis, the AFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, and Maka believes San Jose has one of the league's top defensive fronts.

"Our entire defensive line is one of the hardest to go against," the Bellarmine High graduate said. "There's not just one person who can command attention from your offensive line."

Offensive lineman Mark Lewis has scored a touchdown in each of the SaberCats' last three games and needs one more to match his total from 2011. Lewis, however, is putting points on the board much differently than he did a year ago: All of his TDs this season have come on runs, whereas last year they all came on receptions.

Kansas City quarterback Matt Gutierrez, a De La Salle-Concord prep star, will make his first Bay Area appearance in an AFL uniform on Saturday. Gutierrez started the season with Arizona but did not play when the Rattlers opened the season at San Jose last month.